Speak it.Dove writes it.
Hold X. Say what you want. Release. Dove transcribes on your Mac, polishes with your AI, and types it where you're already working.
Built by Mandeep
Add a dark mode toggle that remembers the user's preference across sessions.
How it works
Four steps. Two seconds. Done.
From thought to polished text - without leaving the app you're in.
- ⌘Step 01
Press
Hold Xto start. Press again when you're done.
- ◎Step 02
Speak
Talk naturally - fillers and all. Dove listens from your menu bar.
- ✦Step 03
Polish
Whisper transcribes on your Mac. Your AI refines it - if you add a key.
- ↵Step 04
Insert
Polished text lands at your cursor - in any app you're already in.
Audio stays on your Mac. Only text goes to your AI - and only if you add a key.
What you get
Everything you need.
A focused menu bar app - voice in, polished text out.
Menu bar app
One hotkey. No Dock icon.
Local Whisper
On-device. Offline after download.
AI polishing
11 providers. Your key.
Types anywhere
IDE, browser, Slack, Notion.
Open source
Full source on GitHub.
Free forever
No account. No subscription.
Features
Speak how you actually speak.
Watch Dove turn messy speech into text you'd send - live.
Fillers
Gone before they land
um, uh, false starts - stripped. Your point stays.
Punctuation
Sentences, not streams
Commas, periods, capitalization - ready to send.
Typing
Word by word
Inserted at your cursor like you typed it yourself.
You stay the author. Dove is the editor - not the ghostwriter.
Compare
Not another dictation app.
Every tool below does part of the job. Dove does the whole pipeline - local ears, cloud polish, cursor insertion - in one hotkey.
Swipe to compare
| Dove | Whisper (CLI) | Dictation apps | macOS Dictation | AI assistants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finished macOS app | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Local transcription | ✓ | ✓ | varies | cloud | cloud |
| AI prompt polishing | ✓ | - | rare | - | locked |
| Inserts at cursor | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Works in any app | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | - |
| Your AI provider | ✓ | - | locked | - | locked |
| No chat UI | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| No data storage | ✓ | ✓ | varies | - | - |
| Open source | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Free | ✓ | ✓ | varies | ✓ | freemium |
| Smart word-by-word typing | ✓ | - | - | - | - |
| Developer-focused | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - |
Whisper is the engine. Dictation apps give you raw words. macOS types literally. AI assistants want a conversation. Dove is the layer in between - and it disappears when the job is done.
Free on purpose.
No subscription. No account. No server billing you.
Open source
Public on GitHub. Inspect, fork, improve.
Bring your own key
You pay your AI provider - not Dove.
Local speech
Whisper runs on your Mac. No Dove server.
Built to share
A personal tool, shared free on purpose.
Community-powered
Stars, bugs, and PRs - not paywalls.
Optional API costs go to your provider - raw transcript works without a key.
If Dove saves you time, star the repo.
Setup
Up and running in minutes.
Download, two permissions, optional API key.
Download
Open the .dmg, drag Dove to Applications.
Permissions
Allow Microphone and Accessibility once.
Speech model
Small English downloads on first use (~150 MB).
AI key (optional)
Preferences → AI Provider. Raw transcript works without a key.
Record
Press X, speak, press again. Text lands at your cursor.
FAQ
Questions.
Short answers.
Contact
Get in touch.
Short note is enough.
Attach a diagnostic report if something broke - it never includes transcripts or keys.
Preferences → Contact → Export Report